


On the Wrong SIde of the Mirror

by Imaginos_Buzzardo_Desdinova



Category: The Soft Doctrines of Imaginos
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-20
Updated: 2020-03-21
Packaged: 2021-02-28 16:56:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,093
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23230570
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Imaginos_Buzzardo_Desdinova/pseuds/Imaginos_Buzzardo_Desdinova
Summary: Trapped on the wrong side of mirror, Imaginos must find his way back to stop the evil Desdinova. He finds only one other person who also was tricked into the mirror.
Kudos: 2
Collections: Lock Down Fest





	On the Wrong SIde of the Mirror

The dark voice, a voice not entirely unlike his own, spoke from just beyond the mirror’s reflection.

“You want me,” it breathed, seductively. “Admit it to me. Admit it to yourself. You want me within.”

“I have no intention of welcoming you inside me,” Imaginos whispered. “I’d rather die than join with something as evil as you.”

“Evil?” the voice asked in a tone of amusement. “How do you define evil?”

“You want to take over the world,” Imaginos pointed out. “Is that not the very definition of evil.”

“I don’t wish to take it over,” a new face was beginning to appear in the glass before Imaginos. “I only wish to guide those who already rule it.”

“If you mean Mankind, we’re doing fine already without you.”

“We?” the voice laughed and the fuzzy image, though still not clear, was definitely laughing along with it. “You still believe that you’re one of them? Is Buzzardo not enough of a hint? Do you not know what you really are, my dearest?”

“I am not your dearest,” Imaginos shook his head.

“Oh, but you are,” a hand snaked out of the mirror and caressed Imaginos’ face, Imaginos frozen to the spot in fearful curiosity. “Do you see? Your body has already accepted my touch.”

Imaginos slapped the hand away. “I’ve accepted no such thing,” he said, stepping back.

The rest of the reflection that was his and not his stepped through. It’s eyes were red as coals, but somehow more seductive than scary, and perhaps that was the most frightening thing about them. It’s hands were enticingly warm, and its breath, now free of its confinement, smelled of bergamot and honey.

Before Imaginos could move back again, the other drew him close, enfolding his arms around him and trapping him in a deep hug and passionate kiss. Imaginos struggled, pulling left and right, back and forth, paying no mind to direction. Wanting only to free himself from the dark being’s embrace and defiling lips.

He drew back roughly, the other finally releasing him with a laugh.

“You would have been better off had you accepted me as your lover,” said the image of himself as he looked down at the image that had been in the mirror once. Somehow whoever this being was had traded bodies with him. And now he, Imaginos, was trapped on the wrong side of the mirror. “Who are you?” he demanded.

“Desdinova.”

******

As Desdinova walked off wearing his body, Imaginos grew angrier than he had ever been in his life. He touched the image of his own world, only to find a glass barrier, like a window that he could not break.

He wondered why this Desdinova had been so eager to get his hands on his body when there were so many more powerful men in the world. He, Imaginos, was a mere ship’s captain. No more. What did the man see in him?

Then he thought about Buzzardo, his own avian alter-ego. Was there more to his ability to transform than he had known? Was it possible that he could transform into other people as well as a buzzard hawk?

With these things on his mind, he tried to transform into Buzzardo. The change felt just as it always had. But he had the sense that he was not a buzzard hawk. This Buzzardo felt different. He looked for a reflective surface and found that the world he was trapped in had no mirrors and only matte metals. Perhaps it was to prevent captives from escaping in the way that Desdinova had? He flew out the window of the small cell and soon came upon a still pond. As he flew over, he caught sight of his reflection; a long and sleek silver and gold bird with long elegant tailfeathers and angular wings. He let out a cry and it was as rich and sweet as honey, and deep as the sea that he once sailed.

He flew, skimmed the water, and grasped a fish in his talons.

As Imaginos flew in his new avian form, that of Buzzardo having been taken over by Desdinova, he saw what could only be described as the loveliest bird he had ever seen.  
It had a white upper body and face save for the yellow beak area and long black quills around it’s head. It’s legs were also black, making it look as if it were wearing a tailored suit.

He flew around it cautiously. It was slightly larger than he was and he wasn’t sure at all if this were a true bird or a protean like himself.

The bird made a soft whooping sound as it looked up at Imaginos through it’s long lashes, watching until the unknown bird landed nearby. Watching carefully, the black and white bird noticed a snake gliding through the grass. He knew that this strange bird had been too busy watching him to realize it was there. Swifter than a swift, he rushed at the snake and brought his foot down on it as hard as he could, giving it several more stomps and kicks until he was sure it was dead. Then he quietly began to feast on the snake.

Imaginos dined on his fish as he watched him thinking he was just a bird until he finished his meal and then transformed. The boy who stood there was about nineteen years old. His hair was worn down to his neck, white with streaks of black and he had dark blue eyes. He was tall and pale and had a slim but muscular form like that of a swimmer. He was wearing a uniform that looked like it belonged to a college, contradicting Imaginos’ earlier assumption.

Seeing that this was another protean being, Imaginos took on his own human form.

“I didn’t expect to see another of my kind,” the boy said. “My name is Axel. And you are?”

“Imaginos,” Imaginos replied.

“An interesting name,” Axel said. “But at least I can assume you didn’t come by it in the same stupid way as I did.”

“What way is that?” Imaginos asked.

“I’d rather not say,” Axel told him.

“Then why bring it up?” Imaginos raised an eyebrow.

“Fine,” Axel said, “if you must know, I was born on the side of the road when my parents’ cart broke down when they were heading home from a family gathering. The wheel had broken off. Guess what they named me after?”

Imaginos was almost falling over laughing.

Axel glared at him.

“Look, you have to admit there is a humorous side to it,” Imaginos said, stopping his laughter. “But I guess it can get old after a while.”

“Faster than you know,”

Imaginos smiled as he considered the possibilities of having a sidekick. Especially one who had similar abilities to his own. He had never considered himself the hero type. But he would have to be one now. He had to find his way out of the mirror somehow so he could stop Desdinova from whatever evil plan he was preparing to hatch.

“How did you come here?” He asked. “Or were you born here?”

“I came from a place called London,” Axel told him. “I’ve lost track of how long I’ve been here. But it has been a long time. I don’t even think time passes here the same way it does in other places. It feels like minutes, but I know it’s been longer than that. A lot longer.”

“What year was it when you came through?” Imaginos inquired.

“1798,” Axel replied.

“It’s been over fifty years since then,” Imaginos told him.

“Then all the people I’ve known are gone,” Axel looked at his new companion unhappily. “I guess there’s nothing for me to go back for.”

“I doubt they’re all gone. I’m sure there are some who are old but still alive.”

“There may be,” Axel agreed. “But what would they say if I showed up still nineteen when they’re in their sixties?”

“I don’t know,” Imaginos admitted. “It was different for me since I only just recently received my immortality from Les Invisibles.”

“The Blue Oyster Cult came for you as well, then. Which of the Dark Ones claimed you?”

“Desdinova,” Imaginos said. “But I get the feeling he wasn’t from the Cult.”

“I got that feeling when Astrinova claimed my place in our world,” Axel admitted. “The Blue Oyster Cult is trying to save this world, but the Dark Ones are interfering for the sake of evil. I think I was supposed to be the true Astrinova and you were supposed to be the true Desdinova.”

“Whatever happened to corrupt the transfiguration is endangering our world,” Imaginos told him. “We have to find our way back and stop it. There has to be a way out besides possessing someone who is looking in a mirror. There has to be, because I’m not trapping anyone else here the way the dark Desdinova did to me.”

“I don’t want to get someone stuck in here either,” Axel told him. “It’s not right and it’s not fair.”

*****

“We need to figure out where the exit mirror is,” Imaginos told Axel. “It’s our only way out of here. If there’s a way in, there’s a way out.”

“So we’re looking for a reflective surface,” Axel suggested.

“But it can’t be metal,” Imaginos told him. “In all the old stories I’ve ever read, metal usually hinders magic. Fairies can’t abide iron, and werewolves are fatally allergic to silver. So it can’t be that.”

“What did your mirror look like?” Axel asked. “Mine was like an onyx gem with a reflective center.”

“Mine was growing in a jade chamber,” Imaginos told him. “It was like a teardrop surrounded by leaves of jade.”

“A natural mirror,” Axel said. “Perhaps that’s what we need to find? So, where do we find a mirror in nature?”

They both came to the same answer at once.

“The pond!”

They looked around at the pond which was still wavy from the wind. As long as the wind was blowing, there would be no way out. And if the Dark Ones were keeping the wind going, then they would be trapped in that world forever.

Still they had to hope. They had to hope that there would be a break in the wind. That perhaps the Dark Ones would become so wrapped up in their conquest that they would lose their concentration and forget about Imaginos and Axel.

“So, what do we do now?” Axel asked.

“We watch, we wait, and we learn what we can about Desdinova and his kind,” Imaginos said.

“How do we do that?”

“We seek out those who have been in this world longer than ourselves,” Imaginos explained. “Then ask them what they know of this world. We might even be able to raise a small army against those who have trapped us here. I hope so, because I suspect we’re going to need all the help we can get to stop Desdinova and Astrinova and whatever army they’ve amassed.”

“Where shall we start, then?” Axel asked.

Imaginos considered for a moment. “We’ll take the path I took as a child,” he finally said. “We’ll go west.”

Having finished their meals, they rose and started westward.

It wasn’t long before they grew hungry. Immortality might prevent death, but feeling a bit peckish was still very much a part of life.

*****  
“There,” Axel pointed out. “Look. Is that a pub of some kind?”

“It is,” Imaginos agreed. “But I can’t help thinking of the story of Persephone.”

“The pomegranate seeds,” Axel remembered. “I read that story, too. So we can’t eat any of the food in the pub. But we might be able to get some information.”

“Just be cautious,” Imaginos pointed out. “Even a seductive kiss with the wine of this world on their lips might be enough to keep us here.” He shivered at this thought, hoping that the taste on Desdinova’s lips was not something that would take away his chance of escape. He had to get back to Earth somehow. There was no way he could leave his world in the hands of those who wanted to claim it, or worse destroy it.

“So, what do we do?” Axel wanted to know.

“We go in and we ask questions,” Imaginos decided. He made his way to the pub doors, only to place his hands through what was apparently an illusion.

“Fake,” he spat angrily. “Just a mirage. We’ll get no help here.”


End file.
